Photographer's Note

Scattered around the province Scania - in the southernmost part of Sweden - are a large number of manor houses, often referred to as 'castles' although not always looking like castles. These manors are usually large country estates - owned by nobilities - with a nearby village, inhabited by the workers.

So naturally these manors were provided with a church as well, where the noble man and his family had a grandstand of their own. And also a burial chancel in the church, together with the most prominent marble graves in the cemetery.

This is the straight road from Övedskloster leading to the church of Öved, which is one of Sweden's most typical rococo churches built in 1759 - 1761, a time when few churches were built in Scania. It's a brick building with a short transept and a rounded choir - and it has no steeple.

On both sides of the church are two-storeys buildings - added in 1810 in similar style - originally serving as a school and a poor people's home. Today they are the parish house and what's known as 'the Church House' - a kind of home for the elderly.

Shot on a day trip in May together with my daughter and her boyfriend who is from Stockholm. We were showing him the 'highlights' of Scania, formerly a Danish province and in many ways unlike the rest of Sweden.

Hej Kaj,
I like those geometrical composition ! And here the geometric cut of the trees fit perfectly for it (although I'm surprised to see them cut like that for a road leading to a church!). Nice smooth colours, and light. That's one of the best periods in Sweden, I think, in may when the trees are just recovering their leaves. Here it offers you (and us) a great shadow pattern on the path !

Hi Kaj. Well this sure is a convincing and strong way to build perspective, taking advantage of the long path and of the lineup of trees on either side. The colors are well saturated and the shadows on the pavement are a good add. A smaller aperture like f/8 or higher would have rendered the white church a tad sharper, but I think your presentation is well made and adequate. As always the best of notes to go with it.

Perfect place for a long symmetrical shot. I like how, from here, the church seems along and yet still connected with the wings on either side. This creates a nice T shape in the perspective that, after drawing the eye in lets us spread out at the back. The colors are beautiful, very spring-like. I was just thinking that possibly something you could do to this is burn the path to make it darker and contrast more strongly with the green buds and grass. And possibly crop it a bit, about 1/4 of the way between the top of the frame and the top of the church. But those are really more from what I like, I think. It is nicely done and nicely photographed. And the day looked like it was the perfect spring day to show someone around.

The perspective and symmetry of this shot are both excellent, Kaj. The bright blue sky and different shades of green in the trees really make this one special. The shades of the trees on the path are a real bonus. Very well seen and captured.